TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2016//
TI  - Analysis of head impact exposure and brain microstructure response in a season-long application of a jugular vein compression collar: a prospective, neuroimaging investigation in American football
JO  - British journal of sports medicine
A1  - Myer, Gregory D.
A1  - Yuan, Weihong
A1  - Barber Foss, Kim D.
A1  - Thomas, Staci
A1  - Smith, David
A1  - Leach, James
A1  - Kiefer, Adam W.
A1  - Dicesare, Chris
A1  - Adams, Janet
A1  - Gubanich, Paul J.
A1  - Kitchen, Katie
A1  - Schneider, Daniel K.
A1  - Braswell, Daniel
A1  - Krueger, Darcy
A1  - Altaye, Mekibib
SP  - 1276
EP  - 1285
VL  - 50
IS  - 20
N2  - BACKGROUND: Historical approaches to protect the brain from outside the skull (eg, helmets and mouthpieces) have been ineffective in reducing internal injury to the brain that arises from energy absorption during sports-related collisions. We aimed to evaluate the effects of a neck collar, which applies gentle bilateral jugular vein compression, resulting in cerebral venous engorgement to reduce head impact energy absorption during collision. Specifically, we investigated the effect of collar wearing during head impact exposure on brain microstructure integrity following a competitive high school American football season. <br><br>METHODS: A prospective longitudinal controlled trial was employed to evaluate the effects of collar wearing (n=32) relative to controls (CTRL; n=30) during one competitive football season (age: 17.04±0.67 years). Impact exposure was collected using helmet sensors and white matter (WM) integrity was quantified based on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) serving as the primary outcome. <br><br>RESULTS: With similar overall g-forces and total head impact exposure experienced in the two study groups during the season (p>0.05), significant preseason to postseason changes in mean diffusivity, axial diffusivity and radial diffusivity in the WM integrity were noted in the CTRL group (corrected p<0.05) but not in the collar group (p>0.05). The CTRL group demonstrated significantly larger preseason to postseason DTI change in multiple WM regions compared with the collar group (corrected p<0.05). <br><br>DISCUSSION: Reduced WM diffusivity alteration was noted in participants wearing a neck collar after a season of competitive football. Collar wearing may have provided a protective effect against brain microstructural changes after repetitive head impacts. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT02696200.<br><br>Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0306-3674
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2016-096134
ID  - ref1
ER  -